Adalita – a person of immense power, talent, strength and dignity – lead singer of Magic Dirt and formidable solo artist with a desire to spread the vegan message

Laura Beck – probably the kindest person on the planet and the genius writer behind one of the most read vegan blogs around – Vegansaurus

QuarryGirl – my buddy and one of the top three reasons why I started writing a vegan blog – a true pioneer in writing stuff on the Internet in order to make people stop eating animals

Mellissa Morgan – founder and owner of Ms Cupcakevegan bakery – the sole reason why London was finally dragged out of the dark ages and into a vegan future

My sisters Michelle, Juanita and Monique – the only people who completely understand what it took for me to get where I am – I love and appreciate them

Terry Hope Romero – vegan food pioneer who turned the world upside down with her partner in crime Isa Chandra Moskowitz – Terry is one of the reasons why veganism is as big as it is right now

Isa Chandra Moskowitz – along with Terry, Isa wrote the book on veganism – actually, she wrote MANY books on veganism and is probably the most famous vegan I’ve met

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau – one of the most impassioned, believable and powerful public speakers in the field of compassion

Sarah Bentley – guiding force behind Made in Hackney– a vegan food kitchen and education centre in London supporting low income, at risk, hard to reach and vulnerable groups

Anika Lehde -founder of The Vegan Score – Anika is a feminist, a vegan, an activist, an organiser and a true hero of mine – she teaches me something every time we speak

Doris Lin – a must follow person on Twitter who constantly makes me aware of important issues relating to veganism and social justice

Jamie J. Hagen – a queer intellectual with many important things to say about gender, abortion, activisim and pretty much anything else you can imagine – a voice I turn to when I need knowledge and understanding

Angela Corcoran – half of the team behind vegan London boutique and shoe store The Third Estate– Ange has dedicated years to promoting compassion, fairness, animal welfare and human rights

Valerie Reid – my mother in law – thank you for being kind to me over these past two decades, housing me when Josh and I had nowhere else to live and for being loving and supportive of our choices in life

Extra note: to the best of my understanding, everyone on this list identifies as a woman. If your name is on this list and you would rather it not be for any reason, please advise me at sean@fgvpr.co.uk and I will remove it instantly. Several of my friends and allies who no longer identify as women but have done so during our relationship have been omitted from this list. I hope they know and understand how much their friendship means to me.